John W. Sharp on eHealth and Health IT

There was more on the FDAs decision about health apps today. According to an informative blog post by Brian Dolan on MobileHealth News, the FDA will not regulate most apps. Some specific use cases for apps that won’t be regulated include:

“that are solely used to log, record, track, evaluate, or make decisions or suggestions related to developing or maintaining general health and wellness.

“that only automate general office operations with functionalities that include billing, inventory, appointments, or insurance transactions.

“that are generic aids that assist users but are not commercially marketed for a specific medical indication”

As always with the FDA, the concern is how the app influences treatment.

Also announced was the real time iConsult where physician users can “consult” in real time with specialist and others and include photos and xrays in the request. Sounds like twitter consult but more secure.